Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes (read aloud books txt) 📕

what I could or should say. In the end, I settled for good old-fashioned contrition. “I really am sorry. And I promise I’ll keep you in the loop when I can.”

She sniffed. “That’s all I can ask.” There was a beat of silence, then, “So I’ve met someone…”

I smiled as I listened to Sasha wax lyrical about the dick size of the guy she was dating, how much of a fucking boss he was in the bedroom, and how they were seeing each other again tonight. Although this was a fucked-up conversation to be having with me in the hospital, it did actually make me feel better. I was reconnecting with my friend, and it made me realize how lucky I was to have her.

Nineteen

I ended up staying at the hospital for another few days. My knee had a severe bone bruise, leaving me in a brace and regularly icing it for at least a month. In the meantime, I was on light duties, which meant I stayed at my desk for most of the day while Sawyer went out and interviewed people.

I didn’t mind it much, until about day three. That’s when I started climbing the fucking walls, itching to get out there and solve crimes with my partner. With my partner… I kind of liked the way those words sounded. My prejudice against supes was waning as I learned that, like people, not all of them are a bag of dicks. Some of them were genuinely nice and genuinely likable. The jury was still out on Wolfe though.

So, I spent my days hanging with Brax in between Sawyer’s return from interviews or crime scenes. We’d play paper hoops and shoot the shit. It turned out the guy was a member of the local werewolf pack.

“So, how does it work?” I asked one sunny afternoon as I launched a crumpled-up ball of paper left-handed into the recycling bin. “You just get furry once a month?”

“More than once a month if I want to,” he replied.

“What color is your fur?”

He pointed to his dark hair. “Same color as this.”

“Is your wife a werewolf?”

“Mate, and yes.”

“Mate.” I tried the word out. “So that means your kids are werewolves too, right?”

“Yep.”

I grabbed another piece of scrap paper, crushing it in my palm. “Does it hurt, the shift?”

He nodded. “It’s like getting your bones broken, scrambled up, and reset, all while getting an all-over body wax finished off with an acid wash.”

“Stop, you’re making it sound so fun,” I replied, sarcasm heavy in my voice, then grinned. “Do you control the wolf, or does the wolf control you?”

He took another shot, this one bouncing off the edge of the bin. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, I control it. The only time I let go of that control is when I’m running on our pack’s land. We can’t hurt anyone there, so it’s the only place that’s safe to do it.”

“Do you enjoy being a werewolf?” I took my next shot, pumping my fist in the air when it landed without hitting the sides.

“I do. It’s the best feeling, knowing my pack—my family—have my back no matter what.” He took his shot and missed with a curse.

“I wouldn’t know what that felt like,” I said softly, crushing the paper ball in my fist into a more compact sphere.

“Family?”

I nodded and sat back in my chair. “Yeah. I don’t have one anymore.”

“Sure you do,” he replied. “What do you think we are to you now?”

“Work colleagues?” I hedged.

He made an obnoxious game show buzzer sound. “Forget that, Cat. You’re one of us. A family.”

“A family of misfits,” I shot back with a smile. “But that’s okay, because I’m a misfit too.”

He laughed and stared pointedly at Reaver, who was laid out on top of my desk. “Yes, you are. I’ve never met a human followed around by a sword before.”

I glanced over at said sword, giving it a soft smile. “It’s saved my life a lot these last few days.”

“Which is also fucking strange. Do you know where we got Reaver from?” I shook my head. “A fallen angel. Yeah, we stripped it from him when he was processed for a misdemeanor crime about two months ago.”

I opened my mouth to ask for more details, then shut it. Some things were better off being mysteries. And some things were better off simply embraced without question. As we played paper hoops, I turned over Brax’s words in my head. I was an orphan for all intents and purposes, and now being an adult, that shouldn’t have such an impact on me, but as a human, I had needs. Love and protection were what I’d always craved. Mrs. Brown had provided a lot of what my mother could no longer give me, but I thought my father had stopped thinking about me and was solely focused on revenge.

Had I found that love and protection again here at PIG? I smiled to myself and nailed my last shot.

“You owe me a beer,” I crowed as I did a shuffled version of my victory dance. Brax only laughed and beaned me with one of his paper balls.

“I’ll let you drain the whole damn bar if you stop dancing like that. I can’t unsee that now, Cat. Seriously.”

On Friday afternoon, I went to my regular appointment to see Joanna Wong. As I limped into her office, she gave me a wide-eyed look. Once I was settled, she sat down in the armchair opposite me, her notepad balanced on her knee and her pencil at the ready.

“So, how are you feeling today, Cat?”

I grinned. “You are not going to believe the week I’ve had.”

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A rookie cop. A team of supernatural detectives. A power hungry witch on a killing spree. 

My name is Cat McKenzie, and I’m